Investors in Musk's X Tied to Sanctioned Putin Allies

A filing in court by X, formerly known as Twitter, has revealed the social media platform is funded by investors linked to oligarchs with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Polish news publisher Essanews has reported.

X’s lawyers made the filing last year, but it was made public in full this month for the first time on orders of a California court. The order was part of a case by former X employees who allege its owner Elon Musk violated arbitration agreements by failing to pay them certain fees after taking over the platform in 2022.

The list reveals X’s 95 co-owners, which include Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al Saud, controversial American rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs and Twitter founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey.

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According to Essanews, one of X’s investors — 8VC Opportunities Fund II — employs Denis Aven and Jack Moszkowicz, sons of Russian oligarchs Petr Aven and Vadim Moszkowicz, both of whom have close ties to Putin. Petr Aven has been sanctioned by European authorities for funding Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the report noted.

8VC, meanwhile, is a prolific investor in American defence contractors. The Texas-based firm’s co-founder Joe Lonsdale was also a co-founder of American intelligence contractor Palantir.

Links between 8VC and the two Russian oligarchs were first reported by Forbes magazine. In response to Forbes, Lonsdale wrote a long post on X saying the magazine’s article was a “pathetic hit piece” and that his company employed people from diverse backgrounds, including from China and Iran.

In reference to Denis Aven, Lonsdale wrote: “I didn’t hire his father though, I hired him.”

Scrutiny of X and 8VC’s ties with the Russian oligarchs comes ahead of the November US election that will see Democratic nominee Kamala Harris run against second-time Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Trump is seen as a close ally of Russia, with a US Senate report concluding in 2020 that his winning 2016 presidential campaign had significant ties with Moscow.

X chief Musk, meanwhile, is a vocal critic of current US president Joe Biden and has endorsed Trump, while also vowing to donate $45 million a month to a super political-action committee backing the former president.

Critics of Musk say, X has become a breeding ground for right-wing extremists and controversy theorists since the billionaire took over the platform. Musk has also been accused of using his own account — followed by nearly 200 million people — to peddle disinformation, as recently as this month when he “incited rioters in Britain”.

Vishakha Saxena

Vishakha Saxena

Vishakha Saxena is the Multimedia and Social Media Editor at Asia Financial. She has worked as a digital journalist since 2013, and is an experienced writer and multimedia producer. As a trader and investor, she is keenly interested in new economy, emerging markets and the intersections of finance and society. You can write to her at [email protected]